The powdery snow was kicked up by the front of the thief’s boots with every step she took. The sight of the stuff made her grit her teeth. To Amora the sight of snow was a guarantee that she’d go hungry. The young woman made her way to the castle commons early that morning in hopes of finding cheap food to store so that wouldn’t happen. The sting of the cold air on her nose and lips irritated her and made her wish she could have just stayed home and curled up with her blanket in from of the hearth.
Inhaling deeply through her nose in a sort-of inwards sigh she placed her cold fingers into her coat pockets and rose her head to watch where she was walking. The thief couldn’t help but grin at the sight of a couple of kids throwing snowballs-more made of mud than snow- at each other. The snow wasn’t even very deep, yet they still tried to play.
For a moment she almost wished she could enjoy it as they did, but then she reminded herself that with its presence only came hunger- then pressed on. She was greeted with food and clothing stalls as she entered the common area. At least there was still food being sold. If she stocked up now maybe they wouldn’t go hungry. She could even get herself a couple more warm clothes to make it through the season as well.
Amora walked up to a stall that looked as if it had food in jars, passing by the ones that sold perishables. The last thing she needed was to buy a bunch of stuff that would rot quickly and make them sick from eating. Her right hand slipped out of the pocket it had been resting in to feel the cold glass of a jar that looked to her like it held some sort of mashed up fruit in it.
Her eyes trailed to meet the eyes of the lady’s who sat behind the stall, being very aware of the large brute guarding it for her. She had no interest in stealing from someone who could stand between her and hunger. “
How much for this?”
The lady smiled an ugly and near toothless smile, her speech holding small whistles as air rushed through the gaps and holes in her top three teeth that still remained, “
I sell it for six coppers.”
The price wasn’t bad and Amora was desperate, she’d be willing to hand over her coin. The thief dug into her pockets for the mizas- but found there were none. A confused expression settled on her face as she frantically looked for her coin. She squatted down and began to fish around in her boots in search for them, but still came up dry. She thought for sure she remembered to bring some, she remembered putting them into her pocket.
That’s when it hit her. Someone apparently was able to catch the thief off-guard and make her a victim of her own game. Petch. Now she was out three silvers and eight coppers. Her teeth gritted and she looked at the woman again and shrugged, shaking her head. The woman didn’t get angry like she expected, instead just nodded and waved goodbye as Amora walked away.
Now she was pissed. Not only did she have to deal with the cold, not only did she have to deal with the stress of possibly going hungry, not only did she embarass herself by trying to buy food without money, but someone
actually stole from
her! It was insane! Things like that didn’t happen often. Especially not in winter when she was always on guard in fear of something like that happening. She was petched. Now she’d have to find some way to earn the coin back and deal with journeying to the commons again in search for food. For all she knew there wouldn’t be any next time.
As she was about to stomp her way back to the Quarters an urge hit her. For some reason the thought of someone stealing from her own pockets set a fire in her and caused an itch. An itch to do the same thing and take back the control. It just wasn’t fair for her to be a victim, not from something she spent nearly her entire life doing.
The dark haired girl stopped mid-stride and froze for a moment before turning around to scan the area. She thought of trying to steal from the food stands, but she didn’t want to piss them off in case she needed to come back. Instead she let her gaze fall on a stand that held clothes fit for the season. It was something she needed, and something she wasn’t going to pay for.
The stall seemed to draw the attention of other patrons as well, letting a small crowd form in front of it. At first she didn’t notice any guard, her eyes were looking for someone huge and muscular- possibly a face full of scars. She figured the man who was running it was completely insane and didn’t hire anyone to help him watch his merchandise and be wary of thieves. With another look at the small crowd of about five though, she noticed one didn’t look as if she were actually shopping. Instead the woman was facing the crowd and eying them, as if she were watching them. Amora neared the stall, still keeping some distance as she further assessed the situation. Her body weaved past a couple of people who were looking at the clothing from a distance and she casually eyed the female. She was armed, and had a look to her that she knew how to use her weapon.
A female guard, and an attractive one at that. Never before had she seen such a thing and it almost made her laugh. Amora wasn’t even the slightest bit intimidated by her even considering the cutlass. She figured she could get away without her even noticing. With that thought she neared the stall more and her eyes caught a glimpse of a pair of gloves that she might like to keep her fingers warm. With one swift movement she grabbed them from the end of the wooden table stuffed them in her coat pocket.
The logical thing to do at that point would be to get out of there as quickly as possible, but of course she ignored her own warnings and teachings. Instead she eyed a beautiful coat that she knew she’d love to wear. It was fur-trimmed and looked thick enough to keep out the bitter cold. The thief wasn’t one known for her bravery, but she did have times of pure stupidity that could be confused for courage. In a hasty attempt to get away with two items, she grabbed onto the bottom of the coat and pulled it off the stall. Quickly she gathered it into her arms and forced her way through the bodies that blocked her path out.
Her heart was beating in her ears and a smile seemed to be carved on her face as she began to pick up her pace and run away from the scene.
Loss-3sm 8cm.
(Keep in mind I can be slow with replies sometimes due to my offspring still being such a young one.)
